New Zealand food allergies

New Zealand is the country with the top three food allergy incidence rates in the world. In 2023, public data from the New Zealand Ministry of Health showed that 10% of children under 14 years old and 5% of adults in the country have confirmed food allergies. Peanuts, milk, eggs, tree nuts, sesame, and shellfish are the six most common allergens. The local environmental characteristics, policy guidance, and food culture have jointly formed the special situation of high allergies and a relatively complete response system.

When I first arrived in New Zealand, I was quite puzzled as to why there was a half-shelf in the supermarket dedicated to selling "gluten-free", "nut-free" and "dairy protein-free" snacks. They were twice as expensive as the regular ones and often sold out. Later, when I went to pick up a friend's baby from kindergarten, I found out that all the local primary schools and kindergartens The first entry notice is not a dress code, but "all food brought into the park must be inspected by teachers, and any food containing nuts and sesame ingredients is prohibited." Even birthday cakes brought by parents must show the ingredient list in advance to confirm that they do not contain common allergens before they can be distributed to children. What impressed me most was when I was at a burger restaurant in Queenstown last year. I met a little boy who suddenly couldn't breathe after taking a bite of a burger. His mother took out her EpiPen and pricked his thigh. He recovered within two minutes. Not only did the waiters around him not panic, he took the initiative to take the remaining burger to the kitchen to check the ingredients. On the same day, the allergen warning for that burger was posted in the most conspicuous place on the menu.

The academic community has been arguing about the reasons for the high allergy rate in New Zealand for almost two decades, but there is no unified conclusion. The earliest popular one is the "hygiene hypothesis", which believes that New Zealand's public health conditions are very good. Children rarely come into contact with soil, livestock saliva, and common pathogenic bacteria when they are young. The immune system has not been sufficiently "trained" and mistakenly attacks harmless food proteins as invading pathogens, leading to a high incidence of allergies. But a study released by the University of Otago in 2022 directly refutes this view: They tracked 3,000 residents who immigrated to New Zealand from Pacific Island countries. The food allergy rate of these people in their native countries was only 0.8%. After living in New Zealand for five years, the allergy rate increased to 4.2%. Could it be that these people lived in an "unclean" environment before arriving, and were suddenly over-protected when they arrived in New Zealand? This group of researchers believes that processed foods account for an excessively high proportion in New Zealand's diet. The preservatives, flavorings, and cross-contamination residues in many processed foods are the core reasons for the high allergy rate. Another school of research has even more interesting conclusions: They believe that New Zealand has a high latitude and short sunshine hours in winter, so most people have insufficient vitamin D levels all year round, and vitamin D directly affects the regulatory function of the immune system. The data can also support it - the allergy rate in the South Island is 12% higher than that in the North Island, and the average sunshine duration in the South Island is 20% shorter than that in the North Island. At present, each of the three factions has data to support it, and no one can convince anyone.

Now New Zealand's allergy protection system is like a tight network. In 2015, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority issued mandatory regulations: all catering establishments must mark eight common allergens on their menus. If customers raise allergy requirements, businesses must provide meals without cross-contamination. Violations can be fined up to 100,000 New Zealand dollars. I bought ice cream on the roadside last month, and the boss asked me if I was allergic to anything. He also said that their ice cream machine is disassembled and cleaned every day. The nut-flavored machine is separated from the regular model, for fear of leaving residue. However, there is also controversy about the method of allergy prevention: the current Ministry of Health guidelines recommend that common allergens such as peanuts and eggs can be introduced in small amounts when children are 4-6 months old when supplementary food is given, which can reduce the probability of subsequent allergies. However, many local parents do not buy it. I know a Kiwi mother whose family has no history of allergies. They insist on waiting until the child reaches 3 years old before giving her nuts, saying, "There are too many children with allergies around us, and I would rather wait a little later than take risks." Some studies have pointed out that this method of early introduction of allergens is only effective for children with a family history of allergies, and its preventive effect on ordinary children is negligible. Both sides hold different opinions, and there is no conclusion yet.

After staying for a long time, you will actually feel that people with allergies living in New Zealand feel more at ease than in other countries. Even roadside vendors can accurately tell whether the products they sell contain dairy products or nuts, and it is rare for them to accidentally eat them. The only headache is that the price of allergy-friendly foods is too high. A bottle of lactose-free milk is 60% more expensive than ordinary milk, and gluten-free bread is twice as expensive as ordinary bread. For ordinary people without allergies, they can only shake their heads silently at those special foods with beautiful packaging.